Thursday, May 7, 2015

April - May 2015

Anthea & Marigold welcome the new Bloodroot

It is time for the spring flowers to show their faces.The bloodroot with it’s broad white petals
and narrow stem. They decorate the rocky ditches along side my morning walk. If
you dig one up, you will see the tuberous root “bleeds” red when disturbed. It
can be used as a natural dye for wool yarns. I have 4 or 5 in my grove that
transplanted quite happily, and I adore them this time of year.

There is also the lovely Rue Anemone. Small, delicate white flowers perch on fragile stems. The leaves resemble a kitty’s paw!

The leaves of the bloodroot, a lily pad.

Rue Anemone

It is also time for the Spring Beauty to remind us that
spring always follows winter – even very tough winters. Sweet, daisy-like white
petals are decorated with the finest pinstripe of pink that you need to get up
close and personal to appreciate.

Spring Beauty

These flowers sing in the breeze…… hang in there a little
longer, look what’s ahead…… That’s the message of spring……hang in there, trust
in the unseen, it is more glorious than you can imagine.

About Me

What can I say, I learn most of my lessons in the garden. My grandfather owned a farm and there was just nothing better than spending time in the barn with all that hay, a couple of velvety cows and always-new barn kitties. To me, Nature is like a big fat hug.
I'm still looking for my own barn, but in the meantime I've got a wonderful meadow full of all kinds of interesting critters and a colorful and crazy garden. I've been blessed with the most amazing and beautiful cat in the world (yes, Marigold is modeled after him!). And now, we've got three new kittens in our life. If that isn't cool enough, my husband, Rob, and I spend our days writing and painting pictures for children's books and visiting with kids nice enough to read them. If that's you, well, thanks! Thanks a lot, in fact. All in all, I just feel pretty darn lucky.